Up on the Ladder
by Babaksmiles
Summary: The she-wolf is caught between the affections of two men. Her Alpha Sam and the dark brooding Edward Cullen. Who will she choose? And can she resist when a certain Cullen has decided she'll have him or no one at all?
1. Chapter 1 prologue

Hey everyone, this is my first story. I feel a bit insecure posting this amongst so many talented writers but I decided to bite the bullet and post it. It's a Sam/Leah/Edward one-shot. If people like it I could always continue as I have some ideas for this story but I'll leave it up to you guys! So please review! I would love to get your feedback!

There is no Sam imprinting on Emily. There is no Bella and Edward. This is about the only female shapeshifter caught between the affections of two men, her Alpha Sam and Edward.

Disclaimer: The characters belong to Stephanie Meyer

**Up On The Ladder**

**up on the ladder  
but I'm tied to a stake  
up on the ladder  
we wait for your mistake**

up on the ladder  
try to call out your name  
up on the ladder  
you're all the fucking same

**~ Radiohead, Up on the Ladder**

_Leah's Dream Sequence_

Even though I was a wolf, I was kind of afraid of heights. Yeah that's right, the crazy fearless Leah was afraid of heights. It was laughable.

I mean I know I'm Leah Clearwater, daughter of an elder, all powerful She-wolf and protector of humankind. I shouldn't be afraid of _anything_! Yet heights made me feel as if I couldn't control anything. There was nowhere to go except.…down.

I hated dreams about heights! _Shit._

I'm on this ladder. I feel the wind whipping in my hair and I am gripping the bar. Fuck I am about 25 feet off the ground. As I look up I realize the ladder leads nowhere except up to the clouds. I feel the unease creep into me. I just wanted to open my eyes and wake up.

I suddenly heard my name being called.

"Lee Lee, don't look down babe. I am right here. Just take one step after another down and I'm right here, I'll catch you. I'll _always_ catch you. I'm your protector. I'm your _mate_. Come down Lee Lee to where you belong."

Why the hell do people say "don't look down" whenever they are trying to help someone with a fear of heights? Of course I am going to look down! Call it inherent mistrust. Or morbid curiosity. I'm going to look down. They always do.

I look down to see Sam Uley at the base of the ladder with his arms spread wide as if he is really going to catch me if I fall. I falter for a second at the look of confidence and love in his eyes.

It's as if he is so sure that I am going to follow his instructions and fall straight into his arms. God I _hate _being the damsel in distress. As I leaned against the bar, wondering what the hell I was going to do, I heard a whisper "_Leah…"_

I looked up and sitting on a cloud. Yeah on a _fucking_ cloud, is none other then Edward _Leechy_ Cullen.

"Leah… I'll be here waiting for you. Always. Don't be frightened. You know this is what you want. All you need to do is come up….come here. Don't fight it. _You belong to me_."

I hear Sam screaming my name. He is screaming to not listen to Edward. To come down where I belong. I feel Sam's rage. Sam Uley thinks he owns me. He thinks the only female shapeshifter known to history should naturally belong to the Alpha. He thought I would be thrilled to know he wanted me. _Asshole_.

I look up and all I see is…..Edward's smirking face.

He knows how I feel about him. He knows that he has awakened something in me that I didn't know existed. Who knew that Eddie Leechy Cullen would be the one to stir something so deep in me? Something that even spoke to my She-wolf. I could feel her practically growl in pleasure at Edward's command.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Edward knows that I am not going to go down. He looks down at his watch and actually has the nerve to raise his eyebrow at me like I am holding him up or something. Like I'm just postponing the inevitable. _That bastard. That smug bastard._

If there is one thing I hated more than heights, it was the feeling of being controlled!

I wasn't some Mary Sue who couldn't live without being rescued by a man. I was Leah Clearwater, daughter of an elder, ALL POWERFUL SHE-WOLF and protector of humankind.

I closed my eyes.

I crouched my legs and then with all my might I pushed off the ladder. I was free. _Free. _I would make my own decisions. I felt myself falling to the ground but not before Edward's voice trailed down to me.

"_Foolish girl, that won't deter me."_


	2. Chapter 2 won't you be my girl?

Hi everyone. Thank you so much for the reviews. I decided to continue this and I'm sorry for the delay. I finally had some time during these holidays to make my "ramblings" more sensible.

Just a few things to know:

1. There is no Sam imprinting on Emily

2. There is no Bella with Edward. Bella was strictly friends with the Cullens. Bella is with Jacob.

3. Sam never broke Leah's heart so your first introduction to her would be what I thought she would have been like had Sam and Emily not betrayed her, which is a strong kick ass chick.

Please keep the reviews coming. There is nothing more inspiring to a starting writer then reviews!

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyers owns all because had I created her series, I would have made Leah the main female character. Sadly that is not the case….

**_Chapter 1 – Won't you be my Girl?_**

Down is the new up

What is up, buttercup?

Down is the new up

Is the new up

Won't you be my girl?

Won't you by my girl?

_~ Radiohead, Down is the New Up_

**Ring Ring Ring**

Oh god. What time was it? I smashed my little Pocahontas alarm clock to shut it the hell up! Yeah don't judge. I happen to have a fondness for Pocahontas. I think it's because my dad, every since I was a little girl, would call me his little Pocahontas.

I felt my muscles cringe as I stretched. I did not have a good sleep last night. I was tossing and turning. Was I having a nightmare? I vaguely remember dreaming but for the life of me I couldn't remember what the hell I was dreaming about.

"Leah! LEAH! Are you up? Don't forget we have to be in the baseball field in 1 hour!" I could hear the enthusiasm dripping from Seth.

Shit. I forgot about the Baseball game today.

My bedroom door slammed open. "Lee are you out of bed?"

I threw my pillow at Seth's face.

"Shut it pup, I am up! Now get the hell out of my room!"

I heard Seth giggle before running to his room. Yeah he actually GIGGLED! Don't get me wrong, I love my little brother. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for him. But sometimes I wondered how on earth we came from the same parents. I mean he was all sunshine and rainbows. It's not like I didn't like sunshine and rainbows but give me some rain any day! There was nothing wrong with having a little bit of an attitude!

I forced myself out of bed. Today was the great Leech-Wolf baseball game.

Ever since Jacob had started dating Bella, the Cullens and the Shapeshifters had gotten a lot closer. When Bella had first moved to Forks, the first friends she made were the Cullens. She was like BFFs with Alice Cullen. Shortly after that, Bella started dating Jacob. It was all fine and dandy until we all started phasing.

After Jacob phased, he didn't feel comfortable hanging with the Cullens but Bella was so heartbroken about not being able to hang out with both her vamps and wolves, that Dr. Leechy introduced a new treaty to the elders about forming a partnership in protecting La Push and the surrounding areas from Human Loving Leeches. The elders including my dad saw the advantages of that arrangement and voila. Just like that the Cullens and Wolves were new best friends!

Gag me.

I had to give it to Bella. Even though I thought she was really boring, she had a knack for getting her way. I guess I didn't really mind her. Jacob was one of my best friends. We grew up together. So our hangouts now included Bella, Jacob, and me. While I still thought her boring, she was nice and she did seem to really love Jacob. That's all that mattered to me. However, one false move on her part and she would have a pissed off she-wolf coming out of her closet! Thank you Shakira!

So that's how this Vampy-Wolf baseball match came to play. Sam and the elders wanted us to get to know the Cullens better now that we had this new treaty. And what BETTER way to get to know someone then playing a competitive sport against them. _Insert Sarcasm_.

It was the stupidest idea in the world. I knew the pack and they were going to want to prove their superiority. I had no idea how the Cullens were but I had a feeling they would also want to show their strength. Maybe not Dr. Leechy he seemed like someone who was all about let's make love, not war and blah blah blah.

I don't know why the hell we couldn't just have a bonfire, drink beer, sing _Kumbaya_ and shit, and get to know each other?

Men and their egos.

It would be the first time I was meeting the Cullens. I was a little intrigued to see them for the first time in live and living color. Opps maybe not in living color. I laughed to myself.

I heard my phone ring. Where the hell was my phone?

After I quick scramble around my room, I found it under a pile of my jeans.

"Hello?"

"Lee Lee, it's Sam. I'm going to come pick you up so we can walk down to the field together."

Oh god. Seriously I don't know what was more annoying the fact that Sam couldn't take a hint or the fact that he was so damn pig headed that he still thought he could order me around.

"Sam. I am going by _myself_. I'll meet you and the pack at the field. I don't need an escort. Contrary to what you believe, it's not the 1800s, women can go places themselves, and for crying out loud I'm a big scary she wolf. I think I'll be safe going to the field myself."

I know I was overreacting. But Sam seriously thought we were meant to be together. He seriously believed that I had phased so the Alpha could have the perfect she-wolf mate, who would make powerful shapeshifter babies together. I mean I know Sam had a crush on me before we had all phased but ever since I had phased, his pursuit of me had escalated to being my number 1 stalker.

It was borderline creepy.

I heard him sigh. "Lee it's better if we introduce ourselves to the Cullens as a unified front. And it's the first time the Cullens are going to meet my mate. I want to be there when they see you for the first time. It's going to be under our rule that this new treaty is going to flourish. You know I'm protective of you babe. You're my girl. So, I'll stop by in an hour?"

_Mate?_

He did not just say that! Fucker!

"Bye Sam. I'll see you at the field. Don't even think about coming to my house! I won't be here."

I hung up on him before he could respond.

I felt my she-wolf grumble in annoyance. I was a free spirit. I was going to travel the world and go to College and make my own destiny. I wasn't going to become barefoot and pregnant for Sam! I wasn't going to be controlled by anyone. It was bad enough that I had to follow orders from Sam when he went all Alpha but I wasn't going to become his mate and be stuck listening to him for all eternity?

Fuck. Eternity was a long ass time!

I quickly changed to my volleyball shorts and a tank top. As I passed my mirror I couldn't help but admire my butt and legs. Hey I'm not egoistical or anything but these wolf genes were seriously a boost to a girl's ego.

While I may have been the shortest of the pack, I was still pretty damn tall for a girl and the advantage of being 5 foot 10 was that I had killer legs. It's the least the Spirits could do for me after making me the only girl in a pack of teenaged boys. And TRUST me, making me share a mind link with a bunch of prepubescent boys…. let's just say the Spirits owed me. _BIG TIME!_

"Lee hurry up! I'm going to leave without you if you're not down here in 1 minute. I'm sure Sam will be eager to walk you to the field!" Seth yelled.

Great. Just Great. Not only do I have to partake in a "friendly" game of baseball with hormonal wolf boys and sparkly vamps who use to be our arch enemies BUT today I also have to deal with an Alpha who thinks I should be jumping up and down in joy screaming "yes yes yes I'll be your girl" whenever I'm in his presence.

_Shit_. This was going to be a _long_ day.


	3. Chapter 3  what's happening to me?

Sorry everyone for the delay. I had some writer's block on where I wanted to take this story.

Thanks to **TheSkeptic88, AshNeve, miucoo, JL, o0FLAM3S0o, brankel1, xXMisunderstood.16Xx, latina-pr, paulinaghost, KCL1985, hpfan1987, Via Sly, Ell Granger-Malfoy, Riaquean and Tenten's1** for your wonderful reviews!

Thanks to **Capp'n** for encouraging me to update! I needed that! lol. Thanks also to everyone else who have put an alert subscriptions/fav story/author.

Special thanks to **Stephycats** for her review because I love her stories and it made me all giddy on the inside that she reviewed.

Remember reviews = love or possibly hate but hopefully people are leaning towards the love side.

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight because if I did, I would be on a tropical island at this very moment sipping a coconut drink instead of being stuck in snow and minus 20 weather. Grrr.

**Chapter 2 – What's happening to me?**

How come I end up where I started?  
How come I end up where I went wrong?  
I won't take my eyes off the ball again  
First you reel me out and then you cut the string

You used to be all right  
What happened?  
Did the cat get your tongue?  
Did your string come undone?

_~ Radiohead, 15 Step  
_

As I walked into the clearing with Seth in tow, I couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. My she-wolf was agitated and I had no idea why. Before I could dwell on why I was feeling like this, I heard Jake call us over.

"Leah, Seth over here!"

I looked over to where Jake and the pack were lounging around waiting for the Cullens to show up. As we walked over, I heard Paul give me a low whistle.

"Clearwater how about after the game, we ditch the pups and you put those legs to better use, like around my waist," he leered at me.

"Paul that's my sister, you sick bastard." Seth may be younger than me but he was fiercely protective of me.

Before I had a chance to reply I saw both Jake and Sam knock Paul in the head for his comment.

Sam growled something into Paul's ear and he visibly whitened, which is not an easy thing when you have tanned skin.

I shot Sam a thankful look because even though Sam's ill placed possessiveness really annoyed me, it was nice to see Paul being put in his place.

Perverted bastard. I swear how girls willingly spread their legs for him, constantly amazed me. Sure I guess he had that whole tanned six pack giant thing going for him but seriously as soon as he opened his big fat mouth, you seriously wanted to hit him upside the head numerous times. _For real._

"So when are the Leeches going to grace us with their sparkly presence," Jared snickered.

"Can Leeches even play baseball"? Collin questioned.

"Seriously Collin did you even just ask that? They are vampires not aliens who have never been to earth before!" I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

Seriously I was surrounded by either stalkers, perverts, or idiots! I raised my head to the sky and wondered for the millionth time how on earth I ended up being the only female shapeshifter?

That's when I smelt the sickly sugary smell. The whole pack seemed to smell it because they immediately stood to attention. I could see the excitement on Colin and Brady's faces. They were one of the youngest of the pack and had never really seen vampires.

Before I could even blink, I saw the Cullens gliding across the field to meet us. Ok they weren't gliding but leeches are definitely graceful. I'll give them that.

As I looked over the Cullens, I couldn't help but gasp at how beautiful and perfect they all looked. I scanned over each face quickly before landing on the last one.

_Oh god._

He was….._perfect._ He was large, not as big as the pack boys but he was at least a couple inches over six feet, lean and hard and broad shouldered. While his looks could pass him off as a model, there was a dangerous quality radiating from him. As my eyes met his, a wicked grin that revealed his teeth broke out on his face and I knew, deep down where it counts that the unsettling feeling I had earlier had something to do with _him_.

The pack got up to formally introduce themselves to the Cullens. Besides Sam and Jacob, none of us had actually met them in person.

"Sam thank you for coming and bringing the pack to play baseball with my family."

Ahh that must have been Dr. Leechy. He was kind of hot for being a papa bear. The smiling vamp in his arms must be Martha Stewart Cullen. Jacob was always talking about how wonderful Esme's cooking was and how she always made him feel at home.

"Please let me introduce you to my children, this is my lovely wife Esme, and these are my children, the two on the right are Rose and Emmett, the three on my right are Jasper, Alice, and Edward."

Hmm, okay so Barbie Cullen must have been the mate to G.I. Joe Cullen. Then there was Tinkerbelle Cullen, Constipated Cullen, and Hottie Cullen. _Hottie_ Cullen? For Fucks sake Clearwater, get it together; you are NOT attracted to a leech! I looked over at Hottie Cullen and saw that he was smirking at me as if he could hear what I was thinking…

OH MY GOD. Hottie Cullen must be the mind reader!

_Hey Asshole stay out of my head!_

I quickly blocked my thoughts. Yes after months of having to deal with teenage boys having access to my most personal thoughts, I finally practiced the art of blocking my thoughts from noisy assholes and I guess it must also work on mind readers. Edward's eyebrows rose in surprise when he couldn't hear my thoughts anymore.

His bright topaz eyes continued to watch me carefully, studying me like I was some sort of lab rat or something.

As much as I wanted to throw the finger at him and tell him to take a fucking picture because it lasts longer, there was a raw energy radiating from him that put me in a daze. I felt a primitive response deep within myself to his presence. I could feel my wolf wanting to submissively put her self at his feet and the fact that my wolf was capable of such a reaction shocked me to the core.

_What the hell was happening to me?_

I felt like a fish being reeled in by its prey.

_Breath Clearwater, you are not affected by the presence of a leech. You've been single for too long and he is hot so naturally you are going to be a little affected. _

I kept repeating this mantra in my head hoping that I would eventually believe it.

Thankfully the strange moment between Hottie Cullen and myself was broken when Sam started to go around the pack listing all our names to the leeches. I looked back from Sam and saw all the leeches staring me.

Ok I was a pretty confident chick but I felt myself start to squirm under their gazes. I think Dr. Leechy started to feel how uncomfortable I was getting.

"Leah it is a pleasure to meet you, my family and I were eager to meet the only female shape shifter known to man." His smile instantly made me feel at home and I realized now why these leeches were so dangerous. One smile and you were a goner.

I felt the pack start to surround me protectively with Sam and Jacob coming to either side of me. For some reason Dr. Leechy's comments irked them. Or maybe it was the fact that wolves were protective by nature and having me, the only female wolf getting special attention from leeches, must have raised their wolves' shackles.

Jacob being the little peace maker swung his beefy arms around my shoulder and exclaimed rather loudly that thank goodness there were no more she-wolfs because they could only deal with one bossy, pms-ing, teenaged girl at a time!

The pack started to laugh around me and even the leeches joined in on the laugh.

And just like that the tension disappeared.

_How rude_.

I knew what Jake was trying to do but I couldn't help but feel a little insulted.

The guys didn't know sometimes how hard it was being the only girl in a pack full of guys. I didn't have any girlfriends to confide into or hang out with because after the change, it was impossible explaining why I was the only girl running around with a bunch of half naked guys.

I shrugged Jacob's arms off my shoulder and walked to our side of the bench as I saw Carlisle and Sam shake hands to start the game.

The Cullens made their way to the field. I guess we were going to be batting first.

"Ok team let's make a circle, we got this one in the bag, let's bat low and hard, they may be fast but let's use our strength to really give them a run for their money." Sam said.

He gave us all the look like you know, _the look_. The look guys give when they think we are off to win the championship game or something. Jesus, it was just suppose to be a friendly game of ball with the leeches.

"Yeah let's fucking show those leeches what we are made of," Paul screeched like he was off to war or something.

Men and their games of sports, I will never get it. Sure I like to win who doesn't, but I honestly couldn't care either if we lost.

I saw Quill and Embry fist pumping each other and Jacob and Seth whispering on who they think will be the toughest one of the vamps to psyche out.

"I think Sam should start since he has one of the strongest arms, followed by Jacob, and then Leah who is one of our fastest and with the bases being loaded, Paul can bring everyone home," Jared listed off, while everyone nodded their head in agreement.

I felt Sam's arm snake around my waist before he headed to bat.

"How about a kiss for good luck from my lucky charm."

"Sam seriously take your arm off my waist, you don't need luck and I'm nobody's lucky charm," I growled.

I felt Sam sigh and drop a quick kiss to my cheek.

"Why do you always have to be so difficult Lee Lee," he whispered to me before giving a cocky look to the rest of the team and running off to bat.

_Was I being difficult? Why do men always assume when we don't want their attention that we are being difficult! _

I felt myself sigh to myself before I felt Seth's arm around my shoulder.

"Lee don't worry about Sam or the guys. You don't owe them anything and just cuz you're the only female wolf doesn't mean you automatically belong to Sam, I can kick his butt for you if you want?"

I looked up at Seth's serious face and couldn't help but hug him tighter. I had the best little brother. No matter what, we always had each other's backs. Period.

"Thanks Sethy but you know I can handle Sam, he is harmless. Now get rid of that frown, it looks weird on your face."

Seth's face broke out into a grin.

_Now that's my little brother._

"Aren't the vampires so freaking cool? I mean did you see the way Edward almost caught Sam's ball in his hand like there was nothing to it? Even though Sam has the strongest arm out of all of us?"

I looked up in time to see Sam make it safely to first base. Either my eyes are playing tricks on me but I could swear Edward was glaring at Sam and vice versa. No it must be my imagination.

_Get a hold of yourself Clearwater._

"They are just so cool." I heard Seth whisper to himself.

Ok it's official.

My little bro is a leech lover. I shuffled his hair affectionately.

Jacob was next to bat. He got a quick kiss from his girlfriend Bella before running off to bat. I guess Bella had arrived just in time to cheer on her boyfriend. She quickly greeted the pack and gave me a wave before finding a seat at the end of the bleachers.

Before I knew it, it was my turn to bat.

Tinkerbelle was the pitcher and she gave me a wink. I heard G.I. Joe howl to her from the field, "show the she-pup how it's done."

"Lee you can do it," yelled Seth.

"Ya put those sexy legs to work," grinned Paul.

Emmett laughed out loud in agreement.

"Yeah she-pup show us what you're working with."

I growled at both Paul and G.I. Joe. _Fuckers._

The ball came so fast that if I had blinked, I would have missed it. I hit the ball as hard as I could and then I was off.

As I ran to first base, I willed myself to go faster as I slided to first I collided into a warm hard, and I mean HARD body. I felt cold hands grab me tightly to lessen the impact and the next thing I know I'm on top of Cullen. THE Cullen. You know the one who is making my panties twist in a bunch and I'm a Clearwater for fucks sake.

Sparkly vamps are not suppose to give me the tingly feeling down there.

I tried to untangle myself from his arms when I felt his breath on my neck.

"Looks like you're safe ma louve ….for now."

Before I could even blink, Edward placed a cold kiss on my neck and then had me on my feet.

Did the bastard just kiss me?

I was about to lay it on the cold one, when I felt Sam behind me.

"You okay Lee Lee, did he hurt you?" Sam growled at Edward.

Oh. My. God. Did Sam always have to embarrass me?

"Sam I'm perfectly capable of playing baseball. Remember she-wolf with healing capabilities?"

"I assure you _Samuel _had I been trying to hurt Leah, she would not be standing right now," Edward growled out.

"Is that a threat _Leech?_ Because regardless of this new treaty, any harm that comes to my mate is an automatic death sentence for you."

Edward looked to me when Sam said the mate part in annoyance?

"You're his mate?" he looked to me questioningly.

Before I could answer back a horrified NO! Barbie Cullen glided over to us. Seriously can these leeches be anymore graceful?

"Boys I suggest we get back to the game. Your little tug of war for Leah is really getting on my nerves. Does she look like No Backbone Bella?"

Wow. I laughed inwardly.

Rose must have heard of the little tug of war that Mike Newton and Jake had over Bella when they went to the movies.

I think I'm going to like Barbie Cullen.

Sam gave Edward one last growl and went back to his position. Rosalie smirked at the boys before going back to her place in right field.

"Thanks Barbie" I called out to Rosalie.

"No problem She-bitch," she winked back at me.

I turned back to my base to see Edward staring at me intensely.

"There must be a lack of eligible men in your pack if you have chosen him as your mate."

For some reason his comment annoyed me. Sure Sam was annoying but he is a pack brother and would always have my back.

"Sam is a good man but he is NOT my mate."  
As I got ready to run to second base, I heard Edward whisper.

"Good. Carlisle would have been upset if I broke the treaty by harming your precious Alpha."

Huh? What. The. Fuck did that mean?

Before I could dwell on that comment I was off to second base and managed to make it to third base.

As I stood at third base, pondering Edward's words, I looked across the field watching the game unfold between the vamps and weres, and I couldn't help but think how strange this was.

It was strange watching Emmett and Jacob bantering back and forth on who had the strongest arm or Paul eyefucking Barbie Cullen.

God he was such a perv.

We were suppose to be mortal enemies with the vampires and yet watching everyone play it almost seemed like it was a natural thing for the supernatural world to come together for a game of ball.

I guess Bella was really good for something. I looked over at her and to my surprise I caught her staring at Edward!

What the hell?

I looked over again at Jacob to see him giving a pep talk to the guys, not that they needed it; Paul's ego was enough pep for our whole freaking team.

_Focus Leah! _Bella is checking out your man!

I mean she is checking out Edward. Stupid subconscious! He is not my man.

I looked over at Cullen's face to see if had noticed Bella checking him out and I noticed that he was grimacing. Like he was in pain or something. WEIRD.

What the hell was that about?

Before I could really ponder what I just saw, I saw Seth run to first and Quill yell at me.

"Leah Leah, Bring us home! You can do it!"

Shit. I shouldn't have taken my eyes off the ball.

I ran as fast as I have ever ran before. I could hear the boys cheering me on and I pushed myself to the brink. I couldn't let them down.

I was just a feet away and I could see a blur coming fast to my left so I slid myself into first base colliding into a hard body. As the dust was settling around us, I looked down onto the body that I was partially on top of and found myself staring into the god like face of Edward Cullen.

"We really need to stop meeting like this," he grinned. His arms tightened around my back.

As I drowned in his warm topaz eyes, I felt my heart start to accelerate.

And I was lost.

_Fuck_.

Translation: ma louve – my she-wolf


End file.
